Kristen Ashley - Games of the Heart

Mike grinned.

Merry grinned back.

“Better call Dusty and get her ass in the kitchen. She’s got a lotta cake bakin’ to do,” Merry remarked.

“Yeah,” Mike agreed.

“And I know someone, get you a fuckuva deal on one helluva bottle of Scotch for Devin.”

“Make the call, man,” Mike ordered.

Merry nodded and reached out to his cell on his desk.

Mike did the same with his. He went to his contacts, found Dusty and hit go.

Then he told her the news.

The he held his phone away from his ear as she shouted with joy.

That was when he smiled.

* * *

That Friday night…

“We’ll be back around ten, Dad,” Reesee called from the hall she and Fin were heading down.

Mike’s head was leaned back over the couch so he could watch them go. They were heading to a movie. Mike had lifted the ban but Fin hadn’t gone for it for a week. Now he was going for it.

“Have a good time,” he called back, saw Dusty appear in the doorway to the kitchen where she was still baking cakes and he saw her grin at the couple.

They grinned back then they were out the door.

It was then Mike watched Dusty wander down the hall.

No and his band were at some kid’s house setting up to play a gig they were each getting paid twenty dollars to play for a party. His curfew was midnight. It was their first paying gig and they were beside themselves even though they were playing for hours for pretty much nothing.

This meant Mike had three and a half hours alone in his house with his woman and his dog.

This was not lost on Dusty and he knew this when she hit the living room, rounded the couch, came direct to him and deposited her ass in his lap.

Her arms circled his shoulders. His arms circled her waist and his eyes dropped to her mouth.

“Please tell me you’re done bakin’ cakes,” he muttered.

“Got one more to go,” she told him and his eyes moved to hers. “But I’ll do it in the morning.”

Damn right she would.

She tipped her head to the side. “You get time off next week?”

The next week was the kids’ spring break.

“Half day Wednesday then Thursday and Friday.”

She scrunched her nose. It was something but since the kids went to Audrey’s the next Friday night, it wasn’t much. Audrey was supposed to have them Monday through Wednesday afternoon but she’d made a deal with them since she couldn’t get much time off work. She’d been able to get Tuesday off to do something with them so they were spending the night Monday and coming home Wednesday morning. But they were back with her on the weekend and she had something planned.

“We’ll figure out somethin’ to do that they’ll like,” Mike assured her.

“Next year, No’s last year, we should plan something fun. Florida or Mexico or something,” Dusty suggested. “Give Audrey a head’s up now and maybe trade something out with her so we can have that time.”

“I’ll get right on that,” Mike murmured and she grinned then pressed closer.

“I think it would take about seven elephants to drag Fin and Rees back to the house so I also think you’re pretty safe to get right on something else right about now,” she whispered her invitation.

Mike smiled. Then he accepted her invitation, taking her to her back on the couch and he got right on that.

* * *

Late Friday night…

Mike’s eyes opened as did his senses.

Still.

Quiet.

Nothing.

Nevertheless, carefully, seeing as every time he’d done it before he’d woken Dusty, he slid away from her at the same time pointing at Layla. Her head had come up from Dusty’s ankle but she saw Mike’s hand, knew his command and she stayed where she was.

Mike went to the dresser and tagged a tee. Dusty had clearly been in a mood or she’d needed something to do to kill time while she was waiting for cakes to bake because he came home that night, went up to their room to change and found, for the first time since she moved in, the bedroom floor clear of clothes and shoes and it had been vacuumed.

He tugged the tee on, opened the door and went through. Down the hall, he went to Reesee’s room first. Opening her door, he saw her head on the pillow, the shadow of her cell on the nightstand within reaching distance but it was late. She was out. Fin had got her home on time and although they sat in his driveway for fifteen fucking minutes in Fin’s truck (which had a bench seat, for fuck’s sake) before she wandered in with a dreamy look on her face, it wasn’t any dreamier than other looks she had after leaving Fin so Mike relaxed.

He moved out of her door, closed it and checked on No. His head was also on his pillow and he was also out. Mike was surprised about this. He’d gotten home from the gig completely wired. Clearly, it had gone well but Mike also knew it had gone well because he stood in No’s doorway leaning against the jamb while No put away his gear and told him about it. Mike thought it’d take him a while to wind down but he’d obviously since crashed.

Mike moved out of his door, closed it and then retraced steps he’d taken time and again in his walkthrough of the house.

The house was still.

It was quiet.

Nothing.

All good.

Rhonda was sorting her shit, helping out. She’d even worked with Della to crate Dusty’s pieces that week.

Debbie was disabled.

McGrath was in jail.

Audrey seemed to be keeping her shit and making inroads with Rees.

With four people working the farm, the corn was nearly finished being planted.

Nothing bad.

All good.

Mike stood in his living room looking out the doors to the deck at his moonlit backyard.

Nothing out there either.

All was still.

Quiet.

Good.

“So why in the fuck can’t I shake this fuckin’ feeling?” he whispered to no one.

Unsurprisingly, he got no answer.

So with the weight he’d been carrying in his gut for a while still heavy, even after Rhonda was shaking it off, Audrey stepped up, Debbie was sorted, McGrath was put out of commission, Mike walked back upstairs and to his room.

He closed the door and carefully slid back in with Dusty, fitting his front to the curve of her back and snaking his arm around her waist.

She hadn’t woken.

All good.

Except it wasn’t.

And he knew it.

He just didn’t know why.

Late May…Saturday…

I was walking from the barn to the house to get a drink when the backdoor crashed open and a nanosecond later, Rees flew out, face red, wet and ravaged. Hair flying, she dashed down the steps and headed immediately to the field toward home even though Fin followed her and shouted, “Reesee!”

At this dramatic display, I had stopped and, weirdly, Fin did too. His eyes were glued to her departing back and his body was still as a statue.

I started out of my halt and moved quickly to him.

I was hesitant when I called out my stupid question, “Everything okay?”

It was a stupid question because clearly, everything wasn’t. And seeing as these were teenagers, no matter that they were mature ones, butting my nose in would probably not be welcomed.

But Rees’s face and Fin’s body did not bode good tidings.

Furthermore, something had been going on with them for a few weeks. Rees started whatever was going down acting the same as ever but Fin was different. He got quieter and quieter until he was brooding even worse than after his Dad died. Rees responded to that also getting quieter and quieter, more watchful then, lately, hesitant and unsure of herself like she had been when I first met her. And this was something she had blossomed out of entirely by the time Jerra and Hunter came with their kids for a visit.

And whatever was happening between Fin and Rees was the only thing that was of concern the last month. Everything had settled. Life was good.

No. Life was great.

Now this.

Shit.

Fin’s eyes sliced to me and he growled the obvious answer, “No, everything is not fuckin’ okay.”

Then he shared no further, turned on his boot and stalked into the house, slamming the door behind him.

I followed him much slower, hit the kitchen and saw Rhonda pressed into a corner, her wide eyes on the doorway that led to the hall, her hand at her throat.

Rhonda had pulled it together in Rhonda’s way. She was still Rhonda but at least she wasn’t moping and vacant anymore. She was back to the old Rhonda if a melancholy one.

“Did you hear what happened?” I asked and her eyes came to me.

“He broke up with her.”

My mouth dropped open as I felt my chest compress.

Then I pushed out a weak, “Sorry?”

“He…he…they were in the livin’ room. They had the doors closed but I heard Rees shoutin’. I didn’t hear what Fin said but she kept shoutin’, ‘I can’t believe you’re breakin’ up with me! I can’t believe you, Fin! I can’t believe you’re breaking up with me!’ over and over. I think he tried to get her to calm down because she shouted, ‘Don’t get near me!’ and took off.”

My eyes drifted to the doorway as I whispered, “How could that be? They’re…they’re…”

“Meant to be,” Rhonda finished for me on a whisper and my eyes moved back to her, now doubly shocked she’d gotten herself together enough to cotton onto that obvious, bedrock fact that every one of us knew but no one was talking about.

“Do you know what’s been eating him lately?” I asked.

Something shifted in her face that wasn’t pleasant to witness and she replied quietly, “Fin doesn’t talk to me much, Dusty. Never really did but now…”

She let that hang and I felt for her but I didn’t have time to deal with that.

I moved toward the hall.

“Don’t!” Rhonda cried and I looked to her.

“What?”

“Don’t go to him. Leave him be,” she said.

“Why?” I asked.

“He’s…well, he gets that from his Dad. When Darrin got angry or in his head about somethin’, he needed quiet and he needed time. You need to give my boy quiet and time.”

I studied my sister-in-law, seeing her for the first time in a long, long time with new eyes.

Maybe she didn’t drift, protected every second by Darrin, through life.

Maybe shit penetrated.

She proved this by advising, “Go to Rees. She was in a bad way. Fin won’t want you up there but she needs you.”

Shit penetrated with Rhonda. Definitely.

Good to know.

I nodded and swiftly retraced my steps, went out the door, jogged down the steps and kept jogging as I made my way across the field, through the back gate, up the yard and through the door. I got no greeting from Layla and I’d know why when I got through the house and hit the top of the stairs. There I saw Layla’s body moving agitatedly outside Rees’s closed door, Rees’s sobs could be heard and No was standing in the hallway with the neck of his guitar in his hand, face pale, eyes wide, concern easy to read on his face.

“What’s goin’ on?” he whispered. “She shot in here, slammin’ doors and wailin’ loud. Layla’s freaked.”

One look at his face, I knew No was too.

“Your Dad still at the gym?” I asked.

“Far’s I know since he’s not here,” No answered.

I didn’t know if that was good or bad. What I did know was that Mike had left a while ago so he could be back at any time.

Whatever I was going to do, I needed to do.

“Right, keep Layla away from the door, I’m going in,” I told him.

“What’s goin’ on?” No asked again.

I held his concerned eyes and whispered, “Later, honey, I need to get to your sister.”

No studied me, nodded then bent to grab Layla’s collar.

I knocked twice, called, “Reesee, honey, I’m coming in,” then I went in.

She had her back to her headboard, ass to the bed, a pillow stuffed between her chest and her drawn knees, her arms tight around her calves and her red, wet face was turned away.

“Go away, Dusty,” she said softly, her words hitching audibly as her body did it visibly. “Please just go away.”

God, one look and she was the picture of heartbreak and I knew this because she was so heartbroken, my heart broke just looking at her.

“Honey, what happened?”